had made up his mind to confront any thing that could happen, and to
contradict any body who spoke to him.

"Something seems to have annoyed you?" said Arnold.

"What's up at the house?" returned Geoffrey, with his loudest voice and
his hardest look.

"Miss Silvester has been at the house."

"Who saw her?"

"Nobody but Blanche."

"Well?"

"Well, she was miserably weak and ill, so ill that she fainted, poor
thing, in the library. Blanche brought her to."

"And what then?"

"We were all at lunch at the time. Blanche left the library, to speak
privately to her uncle. When she went back Miss Silvester was gone, and
nothing has been seen of her since."

"A row at the house?"

"Nobody knows of it at the house, except Blanche--"

"And you? And how many besides?"